


Don't Let Go.

by orphan_account



Category: SKAM (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:17:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9456944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's 3 AM, and Isak gets the call he never wanted to get from the person he never wanted to speak to again.





	

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, for that position has been filled by NRK.**

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Three o'clock in the morning had never looked so good for one Isak Valterson. His Biology paper had been submitted before the 7 AM deadline, the coming weekend meant no school tomorrow, and his mom was finally speaking to him again. His rushing out of the Christmas prayer service to meet Even at Nissen had hurt her more than he realized, and it had taken a couple of days for her to realize that he hadn't done it to hurt her intentionally. They had just finished talking on the phone, and with a satisfied tap, Isak flopped back onto his pillows. Best of all, Even's parents were out of town on some skiing weekend getaway, and they were to spend the next night together at his house, removed from the prying eyes of nosy roommates and well-meaning parents. Even had promised to show him Baz Luhrmann's version of The Great Gatsby, and he was looking forward to an evening of pinot, noir, and... well, everything that fell in between. Isak was just about to shut his eyes when he heard a buzz to his right that could only mean an incoming phone call. Wondering who the hell was nocturnal enough to contact him at this hour, and assuming it was Magnus trying to prank call him again, he pulled the phone out of the charger and hit accept without checking the caller ID.

"Magnus, I swear, if you don't stop trying to fuck with me-"

"Isak?"

The boy froze at the sound of a distinctly familiar female voice, whose presence in his ear at that moment in time could only mean one thing.

"It's... It's Sonja. There's something wrong with Even."

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Fear coursed through Isak's veins as he bolted upwards. It took him more than a few seconds to catch his breath long enough to form a coherent sentence.

"What's... What's going on?"

The blonde heard a sharp swallow from the other end of the receiver.

"He's... I don't really know, apparently he's climbed onto his balcony with next to nothing on and refuses to get down. The only reason I was called is because I babysit for his neighbors sometimes and they... didn't have your number."

Isak was immediately confronted by mental images of Even slipping, falling, or worse. He forced himself to shove these scenarios aside in order to stay on the line, but his mind continued to race.

"Do his parents know what's going on?"

"Yes, I just talked to them. They're stuck at the airport in Geneva and won't be here for a few more hours."

The young Norwegian felt a brief pang of jealously upon hearing this information, mainly at the fact that he was the one dating Even and yet it was still Sonja who had the more developed relationship with his parents. Isak then mentally smacked himself for thinking about such trivial things at a time like this, when the boy that he loved was in such imminent danger. He proceeded to pull himself out of bed and run through the motion of finding the warmest clothes he could in the shortest time possible.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Are you with him right now?"

Isak was surprised when he wasn't immediately greeted with an affirmation from Sonja, instead being faced with a quiet, pained sigh.

"No. I... Don't have a key anymore. And besides... I don't think it's my place to intervene in Even's life anymore. At least, not like that. Just... Promise me that you'll make sure he's okay?"

He could hear the heartbreak in her voice. Ordinarily, he might reassure her with a steady tone, as he had the last time they had discussed Even, but he was too focused on the task at hand to address (or care about) Sonja's emotions. Besides, he felt a slightly unjustified resentment towards the girl for not choosing to kick down Even's door as soon as she was called by his neighbors, which would have been his response in the same situation.

"You know perfectly well that I can't do that. I'll..." And here he paused, trying to eradicate some of the anger out of his voice.

"... I'll talk to you later, Sonja. Ok?"

Isak's only response was a slight sniffle and a whispered "Ok". He flung the phone down on the bed and continued his frenzied search for clothes.

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There were no lights on in Even's apartment, as Isak discovered when he finally got the chance to break down his door (that is, finally got the chance to unlock the door as fast as his trembling hands allowed him). He had managed to slip out into the frosty night without any of his roommates waking up, a miracle considering what a light sleeper Noora, the now-permanent resident of the couch, was. The whole way there, Isak had tried to occupy his mind with what he was going to say to Even, rather than the seemingly endless stream of horrible things that could have happened to his boyfriend in his absence. However, all such thoughts disappeared from his mind when he stepped into the apartment and noticed the complete and utter lack of brightness. This seemed to confirm his suspicions that something was horribly wrong.

As Isak made his way to the living room, where the indoor entrance to the balcony was located, he noticed a worn but cozy looking afghan hanging on the edge of an overstuffed armchair. He picked it up, thinking he could wrap it around Even when he found him, and before he could help himself, buried his nose in the threads. It was the smell of his boyfriend-his sweet, beautiful, broken boyfriend-the exact one he had left on the younger boy's pillow not so long ago. This sudden flashback brought tears to Isak's eyes, and he wondered to himself how things had gone so terribly wrong from that moment onwards. He was about to wipe said tears on his sweater sleeve when, all of a sudden, a blast of cold fell upon him and he looked up. There, standing on the snow-covered cement railing of his balcony, was Even. His shivering body, adorned in nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, was facing away from Isak, silent as death itself. Isak slowly made his way towards the balcony threshold, desperately trying not to frighten the older boy by making any sudden movements. When he had finally reached the threshold, the curly blonde took a deep breath.

"Baby?"

Even made no indication that he had heard the pleading voice of his boyfriend, so the younger boy tried again.

"It's me. Isak. You know, that one guy stupid enough to fall desperately in love with you?"

His lame attempt at humor was still met with no response.

"Can you please talk to me?"

Isak was a few words away from his breaking point when the '97 boy finally responded.

"Hi."

Even was still facing the outside in all his bare-footed glory, but his love was so relieved to hear a response that he didn't care.

"Can I help you get down?"

Isak winced at his idiotic question, for Even was quite capable of getting down from the balcony himself if he wanted to. But the desperate concern the boy held for the potential man of his dreams had overshadowed logic at the particular moment. Instead of answering the question, Even cocked his head toward the sky.

"Do you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice?"

Isak was surprised by this sudden question: He did, in fact, know this particular Greek myth, but in an effort to keep Even talking, the blonde decided to pretend that he didn't.

" _Nei_. Can you tell me about it?"

The younger boy swore he could hear the smile in Even's voice as he prepared to tell the story, as such creative endeavors seemed to be the only thing that kept him permanently happy. Regardless of whether he was in the middle of a manic or a depressive episode, or the desperately needed moments of normality in between, the boy loved storytelling.

"Once upon a time, there was a man named Orpheus, who was deeply in love with his wife, Eurydice. Never had the world seen a couple that deserved to be together more than these two. However, their happiness came to an end on the day of their wedding, when Eurydice died of a fatal snake bite."

Isak, following the story's plot inside his head, heard the tremble in Even's voice when he referenced the young Grecian woman's death. The younger boy, in an effort to keep his boyfriend talking, had to resist the urge to wrap his love in the now snow-covered blanket, in the event that the sudden movement would cause the boy to slip, and instead prodded him along.

"So then what happened?"

"Orpheus was devastated, naturally, and went to plead his case to Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the Underworld. They agreed to release Eurydice back to the world above on one condition: that the Greek would walk his wife out of the land of the dead, remaining in front of her and not turning back to see her face until they were above ground. Orpheus followed this limitation until he had reached the outside world, when in his desperation to see his wife, he forgot that both of them needed to be above ground and turned around, only to watch her vanish forever."

Even then stopped talking. Isak began to realize that, in his current state of mind, Even was unable to separate the tragic myth and the reality of his love standing right there behind him.

"Is that why you won't turn around? Because you're afraid that I'm going to disappear?"

Even continued his silence for a full minute, before putting his head in his hands and beginning to cry.

"I just... I don't want to lose you."

Isak had two choices at that moment. One, he could break down like he had wanted to all night, or two, he could keep it together for just a few moments more until his love was safe in his arms. For the sake of them both, he chose option two.

"I promise you, Even Bech Næsheim, that I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you, from now until the rest of eternity. Ok? I swear on this love, the most precious thing I've ever had, that I will be there for you. Always."

Even was full on sobbing now, and the precarious situation the elder of the two boys was about to find himself in alerted Isak to the task at hand.

"Can you please let me help you get down? Please? I'm right behind you, all you need to do is reach your hand out behind you and grab mine. I've got you."

Slowly, and with all the care in the world, Even reached his shaking hand behind him. Isak was right behind him, as promised, and grabbed the older boy's hand as gently as he could. The '99 boy began to pull his love into his afghan-clad embrace, until Even was safely on the ground and he could guide him inside the apartment. The two, once safely indoors, collapsed into a heap of lanky limbs and fallen snow before the continued sound of Even crying launched Isak into his own weepy tirade. This continued for a few minutes, before the older boy, exhausted from his ordeal, began to close his eyes.

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Isak was able to rouse Even and help him through a series of warming activities: showering, dressing, and helping him into bed once the younger boy had conclusively determined that his boyfriend did not, in fact, have hypothermia. The boy, after shaking the snow out of his curls, then proceeded to call Even's parents and Sonja to let them know that the person they cared so deeply for was going to be ok. Isak managed a weak smile at Even's mother's tearful thank you's, and was then able to reassure his love's ex that everything was actually ok. After all was said and done, Isak gingerly positioned himself around an Even seemingly in deep slumber. That's what made it so surprising when the older boy gave a sleepy murmur.

"Don't let go."

There was only one response that Isak could give.

"Never."

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